Russell, Mary Doria: Children of God
Children of God (1998)
Written by: Mary Doria Russell
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 438 (Trade Paperback)
Series: Book Two of Two
I read and I absolutely loved Mary Doria Russell's debut, The Sparrow. It's emotionally gripping and while it's a science fiction story that does some neat things with space travel and explores first contact, its the spiritual themes and explorations that really make this book stand out. It was a no-brainer that I'd pick up the sequel, Children of God, even though I'd heard it wasn't nearly as good as the debut. Maybe it was that commentary that had me putting this book off as long as I did, but it occurred to me that it would make a great challenge read with digitalclone (who's also read The Sparrow), so read it we did!
The premise: ganked from BN.com: The only member of the original mission to the planet Rakhat to return to Earth, Father Emilio Sandoz has barely begun to recover from his ordeal when the So-ciety of Jesus calls upon him for help in preparing for another mission to Alpha Centauri. Despite his objections and fear, he cannot escape his past or the future.
Old friends, new discoveries and difficult questions await Emilio as he struggles for inner peace and understanding in a moral universe whose boundaries now extend beyond the solar system and whose future lies with children born in a faraway place.
Review style: this is a very difficult book to review, so the bulk of my reaction is going to be outside of the cut in the "My Rating" section. Inside the cut are some nitpicky issues I had with the plot itself, so unless you've read the book and want to help my understanding, this is one LJ-cut you should feel free to skip. :)
Okay, let's be honest: the plot didn't exactly gel together in a way that was emotionally satisfying for me. That's due in part because I didn't feel the need to know more after The Sparrow, that I was happy with that emotional gut-punch of a resolution. Not that I minded the story CONTINUING, but it was sort of an odd thing to read that Sofia Mendes had survived. It wasn't as emotionally gripping to see Emilio still in that cocoon of doubt and--dare I say it?--hate. There were a few moments of clarity for me, when emotionally I knew what was coming and it would KILL me: like when Emilio fell in love with Gina (I rather liked that development) and they agreed to marry, I knew he wouldn't be around for the wedding, but I still broke a little inside when I was proven right.
But let's get to the plot. Issues, I haz them.
For starters, while it was cool to realize that Sofia, like Emilio, has been through a special kind of hell since the end of The Sparrow, I don't believe FOR A MOMENT that what she's experienced on Rakhat is anything NEAR to what Emilio went through. Sure, she was without her own kind and therefore experienced a very terrible kind of loneliness, but can we really say that her suffering is equal to Emilio's? Hell, Emilio suffered through the very breaking of his own faith; he turned his back on his God and renounced the life he once held dear. Sofia merely reacted, and fueled by her own heritages' bloody history, helped lead the Runa to a victory of the Jana'ata culture. I'm not entirely sure where her single-minded, Hitler-esque hate came from, in her desire to simply eradicate every single Jana'ata alive so that the Runa could finally live their lives in peace, so that they could develop their own society that wasn't dependent on any kind of overlord.
In addition, I don't understand for the LIFE of me why Ha'anala didn't use Isaac's tablet to let Sofia know what her plan was in terms of reforming any Jana'ata who wanted to live a different sort of life. I mean, seriously, it's LOGICAL, especially in the face of war. If Ha'anala had confided in the woman she considers her mother, it would've ruined the climatic face-off between Emilio and Sofia, but really, I would've sacrificed that for a bit of logic, you know? The only REASONABLE explanation I have is that 1) maybe Isaac never taught her how to use the tablet and/or 2) Isaac was afraid that any communication would lead Sofia to them, and he'd be forced to go back. Both of these make sense, but were never truly touched upon in the book, which make Ha'anala's motivations unclear. And the author's manipulations more so.
So while it was cool to see Emilio and Sofia--two people who used to be in love but could never be together--face off as enemies, I felt it contrived. I never really sunk my teeth into Sofia's motivations, never truly understood where she was coming from. It would've been different if she'd SEEN the Jana'ata kidnap her son, but she didn't, and well, I just never tapped into her hate, so when it surfaced in the face-off, it was a surprise, and a rather disappointing one.
And I'm a little confused about the revelation and link between Isaac's music and the DNA of humans, Runa, and Jana'ata. I'm a music major too, but we really never got into the technical detail of how Isaac's mind worked in this regard. Was his assignment of notes to certain strands of DNA random, or was there some major mathematical component? I hope it's the latter, so that the music played is truly proof of God's divine planning, because if it's the former, then it's simply random and luck: anyone could assign any note to any strand of DNA and make it sound good, you know?
My Rating
Worth the Cash: BUT DO NOT READ THIS WITHOUT HAVING READ THE SPARROW!!! I'm torn, too, in regards to how soon a person should read this sequel. Part of me thinks the books should be read back-to-back so that the reader loses no detail and can continue the character arcs without interruption. On the other hand, I've seen reviews from people who've done so who are ultimately disappointed with Children of God because The Sparrow was so enthralling and engrossing. How do I feel? This didn't have the same emotional kick, but Russell does expand in her world-building of Rakhat, and we learn a lot about Runa and Jana'ata life and politics and what The Sparrow's mission ignited. The theological explorations are also interesting, with different characters posing different questions about the nature of life and God and ethics, all relating to each other and the situation on Rakhat. Interesting stuff, and I still think Russell does a fabulous job handling the omniscient POV, though this book is FAR more encompassing than The Sparrow ever was. Where The Sparrow had a braided timeline that drove the plot into a tight nexus of revelation, Children of God is all over the place: past, present, future, and it's important for the reader to slow down, pay attention, and keep up with what's happening where. But even though I feel The Sparrow is a better book (let's face it, true wonder coupled with angst is ALWAYS better), what Mary Doria Russell creates with these two books is something amazing, something unique in that she takes a first contact experience and tells the story through a spiritual and theological end, and that's just fascinating. So often, science fiction ignores religion or simply passes it off to zealots or simpletons, but Russell treats it with respect, and creates something that kind of transcends a person's personal views on religion, and it works because characters are questioning, always questioning. I do rather like the last chapter of Children of God, and Russell is a very good writer, such that I plan on picking up her non-SF works once I lift my self-imposed book-buying ban (which is loose at best anyway). I'd highly recommend SF readers looking for rich, social SF to pick up The Sparrow, which I rate on the "Keeper Shelf," and as far as Children of God goes, why not seek resolution? Some people find this book better, and I can kind of see why. I'm not one of them, but it's still very, very good.
Cover Commentary: Not much to say here. It matches the cover of The Sparrow well enough (though I prefer the newer cover for The Sparrow much more: see why? Pretty, fluttering sparrow!, and both are such that they'd catch my attention IF they were on the SF/Fantasy shelves, which they typically are. Because let's face it, this isn't your usual SF cover.
Next up: The God Engines by John Scalzi